We’re faced with the problems of single use plastics across the media every day. Most people are familiar with the videos of sea creatures getting caught in one use plastic materials which were discarded and found their way into the ocean, but it’s not always clear how to reduce single use plastic on an individual level.
Let’s take a closer look at single use plastics and how to reduce them in the home.
What are Single Use Plastics?
Single use plastics are items made mainly from petrochemicals which are intended to be thrown away straight after use. As such, they’re used in lots of packaging including food wrappers, takeout containers and bottles.
One benefit of single use plastics is said to be that they’re hygienic, and it’s true, a lot of one use plastic is used in medical supplies. However, those suggesting we should ditch single use plastic, point to the sheer scale of plastic waste in our oceans and going into landfill – they say this amount of waste is unsustainable, and some of them even call for a single use plastic ban UK wide.
How Much Single Use Plastic is Recycled?
According to the British Plastics Foundation, over 370,000 tonnes of plastic is recycled every year in the UK. This is a huge increase on the 13,000 tonnes of plastic bottles recycled in 2000, but there’s still plenty of work to do.
They share these figures:
- 74% of plastic drinks bottles are recycled
- 59% of all plastic bottles are collected for recycling
- 43% of plastic packaging is recycled
- 32% of all plastic is recycled
The British Plastic Foundation also makes a distinction between the amount of plastic which is recycled (32%) and the amount of plastic that is recovered (70%). The term ‘recovered’ includes materials repurposed in some way or incinerated to produce energy. This itself is frustrating for some campaigners, leading to the question, ‘How can plastics be made more recyclable?’
How to Reduce Plastic Use in Daily Life
Most of us are aware of the problems of single use plastics, yet we struggle to find alternatives which allow us to ditch single use plastics entirely. In our daily lives, there are some significant alternatives to single use plastic that could help us all reduce the amount of plastic going into landfill and finding its way into our oceans.
Consider these alternatives to single use plastic items:
- Look for plastic-free shopping options such as zero waste shops where you take your own containers or shops which only provide sustainable packaging – local shops are especially good for this and food often has fewer miles on the clock so you’re saving the planet in other ways too
- Buy and use sustainable shopping bags
- Buying a reusable coffee cup for drinking on the go instead of using disposable cups – and make sure you remember to take it with you
- Buy reusable cutlery for eating on the go
We’re all human and we won’t always remember to take our alternatives to single use plastic items out with us. If you find yourself forgetting your own cutlery, for example, wash it as soon as you get home and put it back in your bag for the next day. Like most actions, it’ll eventually become a habit.
How to Avoid Single-Use Plastic at Home
There are plenty of opportunities to ditch single use plastic in the home as well. Try these ideas out:
- Use loose leaf tea instead of tea bags which contain a film of plastic
- Don’t buy plastic straws for use at home
- Use soap nuts instead of bottled detergent for laundry
- Reduce plastic use by switching to a bamboo toothbrush
- Switch to 100% bio-degradable cotton buds
- Use beeswax food wrapping instead of cling film
Look critically around the home at all the single use plastics you use on a monthly basis and see if there are alternatives. You’d be surprised how many options there are to replace one-use plastic.
Why Can’t We Ban Plastics?
If we’re so aware of the problems of single use plastics, why can’t we ban plastics altogether? Well, we as citizens don’t have that power and it takes coordination between politicians and businesses to come up with alternatives to single use plastics in some cases, i.e. medical supplies.
Another common question is, ‘Should plastic grocery store bags be illegal?’ Since charges on plastic bags were introduced in the UK, the number of people opting for these one use plastic bags has declined – as long as we remember to take our reusable shopping bags, of course.
People often ask, ‘Is a plastic-free environment possible?’ As individuals and families, we can discover how to reduce plastic in daily life and work to put those plans into action. By choosing to move away from single use plastics wherever possible, we’re letting businesses know we prefer to shop elsewhere – that may be enough to force a change in the end.
Recent Comments